John Shotwell, who coached multiple sports at James River High School, was inducted into the USA Softball Piedmont Region Hall of Fame on November 20. The dinner event was held at the Bedford Moose Lodge.
Shotwell is a member of the Class of 2020, but the induction ceremony for that group was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Both the Classes of 2020 and ’21 were inducted at this year’s dinner.
Shotwell goes into the Hall of Fame as a player, although his coaching credentials are just as impressive. John played for the reknown Roanoke Scrappers fast-pitch team from 1962 to ’72. He was the shortstop on a Scrappers team that used Wasena and Maher Fields as home diamonds and Shotwell was a teammate of legendary Scrappers pitcher Seabiscuit Simmons. The team also played many out-of-town tournaments, usually playing a schedule of over 80 games from spring to fall.
One of the highlights of Shotwell’s playing career was when the Fox Hill team in the Virginia Beach area asked him to join them for the national fast-pitch tournament.
“We used to play them all the time,” said Shotwell of the Fox Hill team. “They were always the best team in Virginia, and I was fortunate enough to play for them in the national tournament in Delaware.”
Shotwell played on slow-pitch teams after leaving the Scrappers. He coached boys basketball, softball and golf at James River for many years, winning four state championships with the softball team. The softball field at James River High is named in his honor.
